Former England captain Michael Atherton took a dig at Virat Kohli after India suffered a defeat in the first Test against New Zealand. Atherton was particularly critical of India’s batting while analysing the match in his column for The Times.
After rain spoiled the first day in Bengaluru, the hosts struggled a lot against the New Zealand pacers. They were ultimately bundled out for 46 runs– their third-lowest total in Tests. Only four years back when Kohli was the captain, India was dismissed for 36 during a tour of Australia.
Michael Atherton reminded Virat Kohli of that nightmarish memory after India’s recent batting failure. The Indian batter was dismissed with a nine-ball duck. He, however, bounced back in the second innings and contributed with a 70-run knock featuring, eight boundaries and a six.
A day after New Zealand won the series opener by eight wickets, Michael Atherton wrote in The Times, “More than a hundred years separated these two performances. Yet India’s 46 all out in the first Test against New Zealand came only four years after their lowest-ever score, 36 all out against Australia in Adelaide.”
“India’s batsmen plumbed the depths again before the previous embarrassment had slipped from memory. Virat Kohli’s glittering CV now includes being a part of two of India’s three lowest-ever scores,” Michael Atherton added.
Michael Atherton had a flashback of his spell as the England captain when India were bundled out for 46 in Bengaluru. In 1994, an Atherton-led English side suffered a similar batting collapse against the West Indies in Port of Spain. Atherton emphasised with Rohit Sharma after India matched the unwanted feat.
“Welcome to my world, Rohit. There is not that much common ground between myself and India’s swashbuckling captain, Rohit Sharma, but we both now know what it is like to captain a side that has been bowled out for 46. All the feverish adulation from a billion fans doesn’t diminish the hurt pride that follows such ignominy,” Michael Atherton wrote.
About the 1994 Test against the West Indies, the England legend noted, “Earlier this year marked the 30th anniversary of my team’s 46 all out in Port of Spain, Trinidad, highlighted with a lengthy recollection in these pages. Having parked the events for so long to the back of my mind, there was a grisly kind of pleasure in revisiting them.”
Meanwhile, India will aim for a comeback in the second Test against New Zealand to remain alive in the three-match series. The second Test will begin on October 24 in Pune.
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